Ages
by SonicGurl98
Summary: For Sonic, leaving his friends wasn't too out of the ordinary. Usually they'd find him when they needed him-but what happens when no one came looking for him, this time? Meet Sonic at his lowest - having not seen a friendly face in ages. When at last he grows fed up with being on his own, what awaits him in a world that has been without Sonic for ages?... aged-up Sonic/Tails
1. Ages Zone Act 1

With but one click of the record button, Sonic was 'live,' as it were – recording the latest 'vlog' he had done in months. Flashing his trademark smirk that he had practiced in the mirror every night, Sonic exclaimed, "Hey fast pals, it's Number1FastBoy here, bringing you the latest and greatest in cars! Vroom vroom!" He pumped his fist with each vroom, before realizing that worked more for trains than cars. Sighing, he shook his head and continued with the take, hoping he may get something out of it, resuming, "Now I know all you speedsters have been waaaaaaaiting for me to put out a new vid of a sick ride, but..." he paused.

"... But the truth is I don't know why I'm doing this. I'm tired, I haven't felt the same in awhile, and I just haven't felt up to making another one of these videos in a long time. And I'm sure that doesn't mean a lot to you if you're one of those kids commenting on my older videos asking why I haven't made a video in 'forever' – trust me, you'll understand when you're older." Resigning to the feeling, he clicked the record button to cease the recording, hanging his head low as he left his hand at that spot. His mind fixated on the last word he spoke, "Older... Since when did I get old? I'm still twenty-five, I've got... five years until I'm _officially_ ancient, I'm fine right now..."

Sluggishly, the so-called 'fastest thing alive' walked off his approximation of a set and slumped on his couch, turning the TV on and finding it on the same channel it had been on for what felt like ages – an extremely right-wing news channel he'd have on to feel smarter than. They were going on about their latest manufactured controversy about one of the many woman politicians that provoked their ire by virtue of having the audacity to exist unapologetically in a world that would prefer she stay in a little house baking cookies for a husband that would lead their perfect little cisgender, heterosexual, patriarchal family.

Letting out a thick, tired sigh, the hedgehog said to himself, "Just let the lady live, Jerx News, gosh." No one else could hear him, but it felt like he was doing something. He didn't have to be making a difference in the world or directly impacting someone's life in a positive way – as long as he could feel above the people he looked down upon, he sure felt like a hero that wasn't wasting his life. He was right, he knew, and that was all that mattered to him. "How can they not see how wrong they are? How're they so oblivious of how disconnected they are from reality when the rest of us can all see that so clearly?" He asked no one at all, the fifth time in the past two days.

This was fine, he thought to himself. "I'm good," he assured himself, unconvincingly, "I'll always be more right than them and it'll be okay. I'll be good." His ear then twitched in a burst of hope as he heard a creak that _almost_ sounded like a knock on his door, causing him to zip over to the door faster than you could tell him the following: there is no one at the door. No one is ever at your door. It's just going to be the same empty porch you see every day because you messed up and this time they didn't come looking for you after running away for the umpteenth time.

And so it was. Sonic once again performed the shock and disappointment of finding not one furry friend of his showing up at his door, dead-set on feeling confused as to how it could be, that he—Sonic the Hedgehog—has no one turning up. No fans, or admirers. No friends. Coldly, he chuckled, "I wonder why. After _all_ the talking I did at the people on the TV, where's _my_ thanks? Hah..." He felt a pang of guilt, wishing he could take that back but knowing full well he couldn't resist a quip that ever came to him—even one against himself.

Tightening his grip that had loosened as he went into his thoughts, he swung the door shut and went back to his couch. It was then that a thought hit him, "I wonder what Knux's been up to?" Curiously, the hedgehog reached for his phone, trying in vain to pick it up without moving before relenting and scooting over to reach it better, then checking his contacts. Yet again, he found it had been wiped long ago of any of his friends' numbers. "Okay, no biggie, I just gotta remember his number," he thought, sure of his ability to do just that, before proceeding to slowly realize it had been so long that he hadn't the slightest clue what on earth his echidna ally's number was.

Shortly thereafter, he recalled Knuckles deciding he would quit all usage of phones, as he was convinced they would 'give everyone cancer.' Sighing, Sonic thought, "He was a piece of work sometimes, but he would've come around if I gave him a chance... at least I hope he would've." He then searched his memories for what other friends he left behind, that he could try to reconnect with. There was Amy, he thought, before shuddering—although he found it odd that she of all people never came for him. "Maybe she finally got sick of me," Sonic wondered, "just like everyone else..." before his mind drifted elsewhere.

Next to him was one friend that had a permanent place in his heart – one even he couldn't get away from. He had given him a name, a group of friends, even a place to stay at times; and in return, he got the greatest ally and friend he ever had. In his life, no other could raise a smile on the hedgehog's face, but now he could only frown, "Not again..." Looking back at the two-tailed fox's blue eyes gazing back into his own green eyes, Sonic asked, "Why are you here? Wait, right, that's _your_ question, my mistake."

"You know why _I'm_ here – why are _you_ here?" His friend asked, firmly. He had gotten good at that, when last they had spoken, just being firm and not letting anyone walk over him. He had to, Sonic knew, given how quick the rest of them were—regardless of how much they would deny it—to dismiss the fox. "Why aren't you with the rest of us, right now?" In spite of everything, Tails was always adamant on all of them staying together, regardless of the majority of the group's feelings about him.

Possibly, Sonic mused, the fox was holding on so tightly to the group as it was the closest thing to 'family' he had ever gotten to have. "It just isn't my style, Tails... You know I don't stay in one place for long, I'm always moving 'cause that's what I do," Sonic answered – the same answer he gave to both Tails and himself every day.

He tilted his head confusedly and gave the hedgehog a puzzled look, inquiring, "Why _do_ you do it? Why don't you stay?" Sonic shut his eyes tightly, not being able to look the fox in the eyes any longer. Tails pressed on, "Is it because you're afraid? What are you afraid of?" The words reverberated in Sonic's head as all sound besides the sound of Tails's voice faded.

He felt a gloved hand on his shoulder, sighed, and spoke, through gritted-teeth, "... I'm afraid I'll mess up. I'm afraid if I let everyone get close to me they won't like me. I don't wanna be a disappointment. I wanna live up to the Sonic everyone thinks they know. It's getting harder every day, but this is easier. I know it's easier than what it'd do to me if I lost all of you because I'm not as cool as you thought or I'm not as funny as you thought... I'm afraid of being sad around you, Tails. I'm afraid of asking for help, of not being able to handle everything on my own. I've been so afraid for so long and I wanna be there with all of you but I can't be there and deal with that all the time. I don't know what else to do but run, Tails," he began to sob, "I don't know how to solve this. I don't even know where to start." Tears began to flow down Sonic's tired, shut eyes.

" _Just give me one chance to know you, Sonic. I've earned a chance, haven't I?_ " Tails asked.

Sniffling, Sonic started, "It's not that you haven't earned it, Tails, it's just—" he opened his eyes and saw his own hand on his shoulder, alone again. "Not again... I can't keep doing this..." The tears did not cease as he got on his feet once again and went back to his door. He swung the door open and faced his small lonely world he made for himself once more. "I can't... I can't...!" He yelled from the gut before he ran out.

The earth below him thundered with each forceful step he took in his sprint, the silence fading into a sound of wind not unlike what one would hear from a car with the windows down. He sped by as a streak of blue, too fast for the naked eye but able to be felt as a strong gust of wind wherever he went. He knew where he wanted to be, but he didn't know where it was. He searched emerald hills and hill tops, sped across oceans and through towns and cities, looking fruitlessly for the one thing that would or could ever keep him going. Then, suddenly, he bumped into a familiar red echidna. "Ahhh!" Sonic let out as he slammed into the toned echidna's torso, before falling on his back quills. "Ugh..."

Being shoved a step or two back, for his part, the echidna exclaimed at the hedgehog down on the floor, "Sonic?! Where the heck have you _been?_ " Sonic shook his head and, as his eyes focused, recognized the muscular red hunk of an echidna. "How long's it been since you last dropped by? It feels like it's been ages!"

"Knuckles!" Sonic yelled in relief at seeing the familiar face, hopping back up and giving the echidna a big hug. "Oh Knuckles, I can't tell you how glad I am to see you, it's been too long, too long—I haven't seen you in so long, it's been too long." His cheek was pressed against the echidna's pecs, which, if Sonic was honest, wasn't an unwelcome feeling. Still, he pulled away and looked Knuckles in his confused, purple eyes. "How've you been? Still off phones and all?"

Unable to stay upset at his old friend for long, Knuckles smiled, "Ah... I kinda have a phone now... I guess it's not a big deal after all," in his voice, Sonic could hear an echidna perhaps more mature and grown than the one he had known before, which intrigued him. "Things have been going pretty okay for me, anyway. I'm getting out more, I'm being more social, I'm out here picking up groceries with Amy—fun stuff. How about you?"

Grinning ear-to-ear, Sonic replied, "I'm good now, my man, I'm good now." He never knew he'd ever be so happy to see Knuckles, but here he was. "Listen, I'd love to hear all about what else happened since I took off, but..." Sonic's confidence faltered before he could ask the echidna where that twin-tailed reason to live he hadn't seen in ages was. Tried as he might, Sonic could not get the nerve to ask before Amy Rose stepped out of the grocery store. Part of the sapphire hedgehog braced himself to be tackled, but it never came.

Instead, the pink hedgehog smiled, "Oh, hey Sonic. What're you doing here?" It was a small relief to Sonic, but at the same time he felt very funny worrying someone would be the same as they once were, forever ago—and _not_ funny in the good, likeable, 'I have to be like this all the time or else no one will like me anymore' way.

Collecting his thoughts and making his best effort not to delay any further, Sonic finally asked, "We can catch up later... Where's Tails?"

Stiffly, the two looked at one another, seemingly wondering whether it was or wasn't a good idea to let their old friend know. This did not inspire confidence in the fast fellow that was growing increasingly impatient to hear their answer, as he had hoped they would have gotten over their 'awkwardness' around the two-tailed fox by then only to find it unfortunately wasn't so.

"Fine," Sonic sighed disappointedly, "Can you tell me you have at least _some_ idea of where he is? I mean c'mon, we spent so much time all together, you couldn't have just dumped him from the group as soon as I left..." As their heads bowed in shame, Sonic at last realized the extent to which they excluded the one he would do anything for. "... I guess you could have after all," he admitted to himself, "Well it _was_ nice, seeing you two again, but I better get going now... I have a _friend_ I've gotta catch up with."

Glancing one last time at the two, seeing the look on their faces that told him they were more sorry than perhaps he expected them to actually be, he left them. Before long, he realized he was back in Station Square. "Whoa... it sure has been awhile since I've been here," Sonic thought to himself, looking around and finding not a lot had changed since he last visited. He then heard a gust of wind that sounded _just_ like a biplane like Tails would fly.

Then, all of a sudden, it clicked in his head. "That's right," Sonic exclaimed, "he has a place in the Mystic Ruins!" And so, quicker than the human eye, Sonic rushed to the train station like not one day had gone by since he had last been there – finding the train had not arrived yet. "Okay, that's an easy jog," Sonic smirked, before jumping onto the tracks he had ridden the train over so many times and dashing the entire way to the Mystic Ruins.

It wasn't long before the fatigue caught up to him, rapidly reminding him he was not in the same shape he once was as he reached the halfway point... to the halfway point. Pain came to his legs like a thousand daggers all stabbing at once, Part of him asked why he went off like he did, why he didn't just wait for the train to arrive, but that didn't last long. Having slowed almost to a halt, Sonic then pushed past the exhaustion and kept running, knowing very well why he ran and why he couldn't wait one moment to get there. "I've waited too long already," Sonic thought desperately as he did his best to control his breathing, his heart beating so fast it felt as if it would burst out of his chest, "I'm not wasting one more minute of my life without Tails back in it."

With that, he went faster by the moment, watching the world around him move backward until it was all a blur and he could only see what was immediately ahead of him. He blinked once and tripped off of the tracks, eyes half-lidded as he watched the earth rush into him until he at last met it.

His forehead stung, stained with dirt and grass. The smell of dirt intruded the hedgehog's nose, serving as a sort of encouragement for him to pick himself up and wipe his dirty nose—years of agonizing solitude propelling him upward. In forty minutes flat, he reached the first set of stairs and trudged along it. He could hear the train arrive at the ruins which caused the hedgehog to realize, upon reflection, that he could have used his spent-energy to bolt for the lab had he waited for the train. He gnashed his teeth as he reached the last step of the first set of stairs, groaning, "I have to quit rushing into these things... Geesh..."

Slowly, he made his way to the next set of stairs. The closer he got, the clearer he could hear the sound of someone tinkering about outside the lab, and the faster he could move. His determination increased, and the exhaustion he once felt seemed to disappear as any thoughts not centered around reuniting with his two-tailed companion fell out of his train of thought. When he could just barely see the tip of the fox's right ear, he could feel all the energy that had been dormant inside of himself for so long come alive, willing him to rush up the stairs... which resulted in him tripping on the very last step and falling right on his back.

It didn't matter, he thought. He was there. Finally, he was there for Tails.

 **To Be Continued**


	2. Ages Zone Act 2

The fox seemed to notice the commotion happening behind him, as he took off the earbuds he would always wear whilst working on whatever project he had going on that day, turned over, and found a denim-blue hedgehog on the ground not far from him. Carefully, the twin-tailed tinkerer approached the hedgehog clumsily picking himself up off of the floor and wiping the dirt out of his eyes. "Excuse me, mister, can I help you?" Tails asked, in a voice that was at a noticeably-lower pitch than Sonic recalled.

When at last Sonic had wiped the last bit of dirt from his eyes, he opened them – revealing his familiar emerald irises to the fox and subsequently meeting a tall, brown and curious fox where he could have sworn his young friend once stood, moments before his vision took focus. "... Tails? Is that really you?" Sonic asked.

"S-Sonic?" Tails said, at the sight of his old friend. "What brings you here?" He asked, speaking once more in that lower voice that the hedgehog had yet to adjust to. It must have been longer than he thought since they last met, as there was so much different about the fox—yet he couldn't have been anyone else. He was Tails.

Taking in the sight of the fox once more, Sonic wondered aloud, "Gee, pal... how'd you end up taller than _me?_ " This appeared to fluster the fox slightly, but not to any uncomfortable extent. There was just something about him, Sonic thought, that brought the best out of him every time he was near him. His mind then backtracked to the last thing the fox had said, which led him to admit in his answer, "Uh... well, l'il bro, I... I've been such a big loser, I shouldn't have ran away, and I'm so sorry. I'm here because I can't stand not being here with you!" Once he had finished speaking, he realized what he had said and how he said it, which led him to explain while locked into the gaze of a very confused fox, "... and, well, I mean, with the others, but... hehe, y'know." It was an awkward end to a sentence that came out perhaps more impassioned than he had intended or expected from himself.

Nevertheless, that familiar smile he once knew so well found its way onto his old friend's face, as Tails replied, "Wow... Well, I don't know what I was expecting, but that was really nice. Here, let's go inside," he offered – taking the hedgehog's hand and leading him up the stairs of his house to his room while the hedgehog struggled to follow—his bruised legs making themselves painfully known.

Once they were inside, Sonic observed his friend's very animated face, clearly showing the fox in his thoughts that were no-doubt racing now that the hedgehog had at last returned. "I think I'll take a seat here," Sonic hurriedly announced before he unceremoniously stumbled down onto the couch opposite of the fox's office chair tucked under the desk beside his computer. Enjoying the relief in his legs, he gazed upon Tails's expression once more, noticing it was more tense than it was moments ago. "... Everything okay, bud?" Sonic asked.

Twisting his top-rightmost whisker in such a way that was a 'hair' away from what could be called 'frantic,' Tails answered, "Sure—yeah. Sure. Uh-huh. Do you have a new number?" He was nonchalant enough, pulling his office chair from the bottom of the desk and sitting on it casually, that Sonic did not think much of the question he tacked on at the end of his answer.

"I forget if it's new from the last number I had, but it's [XXX-XXX-XXXX]," Sonic told the fox, then asking, "what've you been up to?" He felt an unfamiliar vibration near his hip. Looking down, he saw it was his phone that caused the vibrations, before proceeding to pick it up and see what it wanted him to see.

There was a message. "Hey," it read. It was from Tails. Just as he was about to ask about it, Tails responded verbally to his question from before, "Ah, not too much. Robotnik's not been up to a lot, so I've just been here tinkering away at the Tornado." Sonic was more than a little confused by the dissonance in his twin-tailed friend's actions, and he would have commented on it, had the vibrating sensation not returned to his hands as he received yet another message from the fox – the second message he had ever received from an actual person on that phone. "How long are you staying?" Wrote the fox.

Beginning to starve for a clue, Sonic started, "Hey, uh... I don't know how long I'm staying, I guess, I just figured—" his phone vibrated once more.

"I wanna talk on here, please," it read. Sonic looked at the fox in front of him, who had shrunk into a curled-up ball facing away from him, focusing only on the phone he was clutching tightly with both hands.

Resigning to the fox's wishes, Sonic began to write on the phone. He got in "I haven't delight tye" before accidentally sending the unfinished, typo-laden message. Groaning, he then proceeded to carefully type out "Sorry," "Didn't mean to send it like that," "I meant I haven't yet delight," "Dessert," " _dECIDED,_ " "... Close enough." He could hear the fox quietly chuckle at the hedgehog's typo antics—which kind of made him wish he had done them on purpose.

He received a message containing a single emoji, depicting someone laughing so hard that tears were rolling down their eyes. Contrary to his long-held belief, his company was actually being enjoyed even though he wasn't expending a large amount of energy trying to be the most likable and hilarious person in the room.

"So... I guess while you're here and I have your number, there's some things I wanna say to you," another message of Tails's started. "First, I still think about what you did for me and I'm so glad I got to have you in my life in the first place. I know when I was younger I didn't show it very well, so I wanna make sure you know that even if you never showed up in my life ever again I would've still appreciated everything you did for me and remembered you as a good friend," the following message continued. It warmed the hedgehog's heart to read the words his friend was writing out for him—ironically writing faster than he was able to on the phone, likely due to more experience using it.

The next messages he received, however, were not anything he would ever dream of reading from anyone he knew – least of all his closest friend.

"But," the first message sent. "I probably would still be really upset that you did leave before I could tell you,"

"I,"

"love,"

you."

Sonic's eyes widened. Where did this come from? How long had it been going on? The green-eyed guy felt the urge to react verbally, but fought it, for fear of worsening the fox's anxiety. "Oh god," Tails texted, "I actually said it," "I didn't plan ahead this far," "What do I do."

Doing his best not to say anything he would regret, the hedgehog chose his words carefully when he messaged, "You can start with calming down. It's not the end of the world, I've been loved before, no one exploded." He included a smiling emoji at the end of his message to be certain his reassurance would not be misconstrued as annoyance.

There was a pause in the messages after the hedgehog's attempt at calming the fox down. Sonic stayed slouched on the couch while Tails remained curled up on his office chair. After what felt like an eternity of that, the light of the hedgehog's phone dimmed from the inactivity, so he tapped the screen – inadvertently starting another message, waiting to be written. Sonic looked at the unwritten message for awhile, then looked up at the tense fox above him. Shaking his head, the hedgehog decided to try at saying more. "Listen," he wrote, "I'm not mad at you," "In fact, I'm proud that you trust me enough to tell me." Then, as Sonic gazed upon what he had written, something seemed to come over him that moved him to write, "Seriously," "I'm so glad you told me," "I," " _DOn't,_ " "Know what's coming over me but I'm," "I'm really happy." The most confusing tears welled-up in the hedgehog's eyes while his chest felt like pure joy was being poured into it until there was room for little else.

"Really?" Tails responded, verbally, tearing Sonic's gaze off of his phone and back onto him. "So... do you feel the... same?" He asked, his uncertainty spacing his words peculiarly apart.

Mind racing, Sonic couldn't think of any answer. "Well yeah," came out of the hedgehog's lips. "Wait," he reacted, eyes wide open in shock of what was coming out of his mouth, causing him to break eye-contact from the fox and think for a moment. After having a moment of thought, sure enough, Sonic realized, "... No, that's right, yeah. I do. Huh." He looked back at the fox who was making the most adorable expression he had ever seen. Everything about the fox was _beautiful._ It was like he was looking at him for the first time – he loved every part and there wasn't a thing peculiar about it. It was as true and real and knowable as the sky's hue, as tangible as any leaf on a tree that had lived longer than the oldest tortoise and would outlive the youngest child. He didn't know it or realize it before, but there it was, where it had always been. "I... love you too," he admitted to both the fox and himself, from the bottom of his heart.

Tails stood up off his chair and looked at the hedgehog, scanning for the truth to be shown in his eyes. "You aren't joking right now, are you? Because that sounded really sincere but I'm not discounting that you may have just aimed for sarcasm and overshot it," remarked the fox, eliciting a chuckle from his badnik-busting buddy.

Flashing that smirk he seldom got to use sincerely anymore, Sonic felt a playfulness return to himself. "Okay," he nodded, "how can I prove I'm not joking, to you? You must have some kind of lie-detector around her somewhere... or," a grin grew on the hedgehog's face, "do you prefer a more... _personal_ test?" This was the sort of 'mischievousness' he used to reserve for his enemies, but he couldn't deny it felt fun to try it out in a situation where he wasn't threatening any harm. He felt most safe around Tails, after all – this was something he could do as long as he was with him.

If the fox was perfectly honest, he was convinced enough already, but it had been ages since the two had last played a 'game' like this before and Tails was determined to have fun with it. "Alright, well... people who love each other usually hold hands and spend time with each other, so... are you up to that?" He could have just asked the hedgehog to kiss him right then, but he wanted to make this game last.

Sonic chuckled, before he stood up from the couch and took the fox's hand. His legs didn't exactly feel amazing, but they had healed enough that it wouldn't kill him to move around. He was then led by Tails out of the workshop and to the edge of the runway they had set up for the Tornado so long ago. Turning to face the fox, looking up to his eyes, the hedgehog joked, "So, what, this is a date? Isn't that where you drag me to places I don't want to go and get captured by a robot? 'Cause I think I tried that before and it didn't really knock me out or anything."

"Is _that_ what you were up to after we crashed? I was flashing back to when we first met and having visions of some ancient echidna tribe!" Tails laughed, causing the hedgehog to burst into laughter as well. "And then there was this purple cat who wanted this frog that had the red chaos emerald, it was a _disaster_..." the fox continued, wiping the tears of laughter from his eyes. After the fox's laughter faded, a solemnity seemed to come over him, and he said, "I really had to learn how to deal with doing things without you, when that happened..."

As his own laughter died down and he locked his gaze into the fox's sky-blue eyes, Sonic could almost picture what it was like for him. He offered, "Man... Well, you sure stepped up to the plate there, pal. If I remember this right, you were a real big hero for Station Square." He saw his comment made the fox blush and roll his eyes, but he pressed on, "Really, dude, I bet they still remember what you did for them..." His eyes squinted as he looked over to the bright sunset that was turning the sky orange and purple. "Y'know, this does remind me of when I woke up from the crash..." Sonic noted, "I remember the first thing I did was call out to you, while my head was just _buried_ in the sand, haha..." his chuckle did little to cover up the shade of sorrow that came upon the hedgehog when he remembered that moment, "When I got my head out of the sand I thought you were gonna be there with me... when you weren't, I didn't know what I was gonna do. I did get carried away with Amy later, yeah, but when I saw you fly by at Red Mountain..."

His mind drifted further, recalling when last he left him once again, after everything. "I really am sorry I left... I hope I can make it up to you, buddy," Sonic gave the fox a smile filled with hope for a second chance.

Smiling back, Tails put a hand on his old friend's shoulder as he replied, "It wasn't the end of the world... no one exploded, haha," which earned him another chuckle from the hedgehog that once upon a time was the one dazzling him with his wit. "So... are you ready to get this... 'date,' going?" Tails struggled, but he managed to lock eyes once more with the blue hedgehog. It was his first time doing this, and he had only ever planned to make it half this far. It was difficult to accept the reality of the whole thing, but, as if to help ease the fox's internal worries, Sonic nodded – 'officially' starting their first date, at last.

Hand-in-hand, they left the runway and the place only Tails had called home for so long. Together.

 **To Be Continued.**


	3. Ages Zone Act 3

"Can I say something?" Tails asked, stifling a yawn as they were stuck waiting for the train after _just_ _missing_ the last one. Sonic was tapping his foot impatiently on the wood floor when he looked over at the fox, motioning for him to go ahead with what he wanted to say. "I like the darker blue you've got going on," smiled the fox.

As though he hadn't noticed until he mentioned it, Sonic looked down at his darker self and chuckled, "Hah, yeah, I guess I am a bit darker now. I suppose that's just me... getting older, I guess." Inwardly, he felt a little foolish for saying 'I guess' two times in one sentence. Ripping his mind off of beating himself up for a moment, the blue blur replied, "That brown shade isn't treating you so bad either, l'il bro." The brown fox's cheeks turned a tad red, which was just too cute. "Geesh, you're so big now but you still act the same..." Sonic laughed, hanging his head low and closing his eyes as he enjoyed the feeling of belonging he felt around him.

Unsure of how to feel about that last comment, Tails asked, "That's not bad, right?"

He blinked his eyes open. "Oh," Sonic reacted, "I—yeah, no, it's the opposite of bad!" Reaching for the fox's shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze, he assured his twin-tailed date, "You're okay, Tails. Heck, you're doing _a lot_ better now than I was when _I_ was eighteen."

Tails nodded, his smile returned. When he looked back at the empty train tracks, an idea came to him – one he introduced to Sonic promptly, suggesting, "Y'know, I bet you could run all the way over to Station Square faster than the train will get here."

"Funny you should mention that, Tails," Sonic grinned, shaking his head, "I kinda did on the way here, but it totally wiped me out." The fox looked at him in disbelief, mouth agape, but the hedgehog insisted, "No, _really!_ I'm not in the shape I used to be in... the train will get here sooner than it'll take me to feel up to pulling a stunt like that again..." There was a playfulness to the conversation, but internally the hedgehog was growing uneasy with the frequency of which he was reiterating his oldness.

It was not lost on the fox, who could see him tense up each time he caught himself bringing it up again. "We've got our whole lives ahead of us, Sonic – don't waste one minute of it on worrying about how old you're getting," Tails told his distraught date, who was a little surprised to hear it coming from him, but not too much. Tails was always a smart guy, Sonic thought, he saw much of the world through a lens of logic that served him well in keeping perspective on worries such as those the hedgehog was having.

At last, the train arrived. "Finally," Sonic sighed, as the automated doors opened before them. They began to make their way into the train, only to find a pair of old friends exiting the way they were entering. "Amy? Knuckles?" Sonic said, confusedly.

"Amy! Knuckles!" Tails beamed, tackling them with a big, joyous hug that neither one was prepared for. "It's been forever! I missed you both so much!" The twin-tailed tinkerer exclaimed, looking back and forth at the both of them with an excited look. "Thanks so much for coming by – what brings you here?" He asked.

Neither one was unhappy to see their old friend, but Amy was the first to speak, saying, "Oh Tails, it's just good to see you again... We're really sorry it's been so long, but we're here now and that's what matters, right?" She looked expectantly at the hedgehog, awaiting his affirmation, only to see he was still keeping his distance.

Looking at the two receiving an excited hug from the fox, Sonic shook his head, "Yeah," he said, "thanks for coming over." This seemed to be convincing enough for the pink hedgehog, but, in truth, he was only approving of their being there because he didn't wanna get in the way of Tails having the whole 'family' back together. "We were actually gonna head out to Station Square. I know it's a drag, just coming from there, but Tails and I've got a date to have so..." Sonic casually mentioned, causing the two's jaws to drop.

It was quiet, leaving plenty of time for both Sonic and Tails to realize perhaps the blue fool may have said too much this time and that they may be in for an earful, now. Tails uneasily released the two from their big hug and looked down, bracing himself for the worst. Instead, Knuckles exasperatedly asked, "Who're the girls?" He was promptly elbowed by the pink hedgehog, who knew full well what Sonic meant.

Rolling her green eyes at the echidna, she explained, "He meant that they're going on a date _with each other_." She then looked back at the two and offered a smile that looked a little hollow to the hedgehog, saying, "Don't let us stop you two, we can ride back with the both of you – we're here to hang out after all, isn't that right, Knuckles?"

They all looked at the echidna, waiting for his response. "... I'm still a little confused – so how can you go on a date with each other without two other girls to go with you? Isn't that just hanging out time?" The other three all groaned at the red guardian's apparent inability to understand, but he added, "Kidding, kidding. I gotcha. It's just I really do need to head back to the Master Emerald. I don't want it getting broken... again... 'cause then I'd have to find all the little pieces and have to put it all back together... again..."

"Okay, Knuckles, see ya later!" Tails waved, joined by the rest as they all waved goodbye to the echidna for the day. "So..." the fox shyly started, turning once again towards Rosy and looking down to her eyes, "it's really not a big deal that me and Sonic are going on a date? I figured it would be, since you were always trying to get Sonic to..." his voice trailed off, but he hoped she got the gist of what he was saying.

Looking up into the fox's blue eyes, Amy smiled that hollow smile from before once more, assuring the fox, "Of course it's not—I'm not Sonic's mom, he can do what he wants. C'mon, now, I'll ride with you to the square and then I'll let you both have your date." She then headed into the train she had left moments ago, leaving the two to look at one another, shrug their shoulders, and follow along.

When the 'trio' took their seats, Tails was to Sonic's left, and Amy to his right. He let out a very tense exhale and began to tap his feet anxiously, waiting for it to all go wrong. It was then that Tails took the hedgehog's left hand and held it firmly. The idea was to give him something to squeeze in stress, but much of the hedgehog's stress seemed to vanish the moment he felt the fox's gloved hand in his already, so it was a gentle hold. "Can't get anything past you, huh, bud," Sonic said to the fox, smirking and rubbing the back of the fox's hand with his thumb.

"Hey," Amy said, suddenly, "Sonic, can we talk?"

He faced the pink hedgehog that had pined for him for years, gritting his teeth as little as he could manage. "I don't see why not," he replied a little disingenuously. "I'll be back before you know it, l'il bro," Sonic assured the twin-tailed tech-whiz before standing up and heading over to a private part of the train with the hedgehog in the pink dress and pants. Tearing his gaze off from the ground and looking at Amy, Sonic cautiously asked, "So what's up?"

Taking a deep breath before starting, Amy began, "I know you think I'm gonna explode at you right now, I know I disappointed you with how we treated Tails, but... honestly, Sonic, I'm so happy for you." This surprised Sonic, to put it incredibly lightly – further cementing his previous conclusion that the pink hedgehog had indeed matured very much since he last met her. "... I'd just like to know something... why him and not me? And why so soon when you just met him again after being away from him—all of us—for years?" She asked – a little closer to the question he was expecting to hear from her initially, though her previous statement helped make it less scary.

Not in any hurry, Sonic took time with his answer. "To tell you the truth... there wasn't really a conscious reason behind it... my feelings kinda snuck up on me, here," Sonic started, confusingly enough, "He told me how he felt and it was like... it unlocked something in me... Now, I'm not big on thinking, so I don't have a concrete answer for it, but my best guess would be... Tails is the only person I could ever feel like this about. There's not anyone I know better than him, and it was him and not you because of that. I got to know him, we got to be friends... and I guess it doesn't hurt he's also such a lovable guy, haha," he chuckled at the end of his attempt at an explanation, before catching himself and deciding perhaps it wasn't the best time for laughs. Instead, apologizing, "... I'm really sorry, I probably don't have the solid answer you were looking fo—"

"No!" Amy blurted out a little loudly, causing Sonic to jump a little. "I-I mean... that was a good answer, I get it now," she clarified, calming the hedgehog down a little. "I guess there's only one thing left to do, now," she said, before reaching to behind herself, getting a wrinkled piece of paper and handing it to the hedgehog. "Take it, please... It's our perfect date I had planned... wh-when I was little, I mean." The blue hedgehog's eyes widened, but she insisted, "You can have it, I don't need it. You can even use it for your date with Tails... that'd make me really h-happy."

Sonic could hear her stammer, but when he looked at her she looked... relieved. Perhaps the two of them needed closure of some sort and this was it. Smiling and letting go of the years of being chased, Sonic said, "Thanks, Amy... that's a real friendly thing of you to do." It felt like they were finally getting to be friends.

With that behind the two, they returned to Tails and sat down. Tails leaned his head close to the hedgehog's head, eyes closed, and wrapped the hedgehog in his tails. Chuckling softly, the hedgehog leaned his own head against the fox's and closed his eyes.

They were in a crowded train bursting at the seams with conversation and activity, but they may as well have been the only ones there. No one could disturb them, nothing could get between them – everything was out of the way of their feelings and they could just enjoy each other's company. The rest of the ride to Station Square seemed to fly by like the greatest song anyone ever heard. When they arrived, Tails unwrapped the hedgehog and stood up. "See you later, Amy," Tails smiled brightly before taking Sonic's hand and pulling him up out of his seat. "Now c'mon, sleepyhead, you still have to prove you really love me," he told the hedgehog with a knowing look.

Jokingly, Sonic replied, "Five more minutes, _mom,_ geesh," before getting up and walking out of the train with him. It was nighttime, but the sapphire speedster felt more awake and ready to make the most of the rest of the day than he had in years. "Okay, let's see, what's next on the gay agenda..." Sonic said without thinking, eliciting an unexpected burst of laughter from the fox.

Tails laughed, "Gay agenda?! Where'd you hear that one from? It sounds like something one of those ridiculous right-wing news channels like Jerx News would come up with!" He looked to the blue boy to see he was mistaken and that Sonic was in fact referring to something more serious, but the hedgehog's expression told him otherwise. "Oh my god, you don't... Do you...?"

Frantically, the speedy spindasher searched for the right word, half-seriously defending himself, "Look—listen—I mean, there's not a lot in the world that makes me feel smart, okay? Can't I have this one thing?" This only fed the fox's infectious giggles, which, in turn, made the hedgehog chuckle along with him. "So _as I was saying,_ what's on the gay agenda is... well, gosh, I'm hungry. Wanna head over to Burger Shop – the restaurant with quite possibly the most on the nose name in the city that has a bookstore called Station Square Books?" Sonic proposed, getting another giggle from the fox.

"Sounds like a good date to me," Tails decided, as they exited Station Square Central Station and made their way to the Burger Shop. The walk started out uneventful, but that changed when they passed by the newstand. She seemed to give the fox a funny look, which made the fox uneasy, so they left as soon as they could—assuming that would be the end of it.

They were mistaken.

More and more, heads were turning and eyes were widening. Much as his legs plead for him not to, Sonic began to hurry to the burger shop, wishing to get the fox away from what felt like very judgmental and insensitive attention. Looking at Tails, he looked very distressed, so Sonic assured, "It'll be okay, Tails, we'll get to the Burger Shop and we won't have to worry about this."

"I hope you're right, Sonic..." Tails sighed, "It's been awhile since I've had to put up with this... maybe this was a bad idea after all..." the fox wondered, causing the hedgehog's heart to sink—though he couldn't blame his twin-tailed partner. He couldn't possibly imagine what it must be like to live life while viewed as some sort of freak to everyone else.

As long as it felt, they shortly arrived at the Burger Shop. It was a slow day as was to be expected at the shop, not many people were around and those that were there were too tired to notice the two arriving. The cashier looked half-asleep, but he would do. "Y'know what you want, bud?" Sonic asked.

Looking over the poorly-lit menu, Tails pondered over his decision very carefully, before deciding, "I think... I'll have a cheeseburger. With fries and a soda..." then hastily adding, "I-I mean, if that's not too much to pay for."

"Chill, bro – I'm not sparing a _single_ expense on our first date in this tiny burger joint," Sonic replied, which eased the fox's worries whilst tickling his 'funny bone.' He then walked over to the cashier, ordering, "I'll have a hamburger, fries, soda, and gimme that but with a cheeseburger instead of just a hamburger for the li—" Sonic caught himself about to call the fox 'little,' chuckled, and continued, "... a cheeseburger for the big guy over there, please." He doubted the cashier noticed, but he hoped the guy was conscious enough to catch their order.

Vaguely, the cashier nodded, so the hedgehog seated himself on the opposing seat at the table for two that Tails had picked. "Nice table, huh?" The fox asked the hedgehog, who nodded. The wait wasn't unreasonable, but that did not stop the hedgehog from tapping his foot enough to make the sound of his tapping resemble more of a constant single note being 'played' by his foot on the floor. During an especially quiet moment, Tails apologized, "I'm um... sorry for all the attention we were getting earlier, 'cause of me..."

Sighing, Sonic looked at the apologetic fox sorrowfully, saying, "Please, don't be... they should just be able to get over that, it doesn't take a super genius to realize how othering that can be." He put his arm on Tails's shoulder. "It's not your fault," he stated, firmly, eliciting a nod from the unconvinced fox.

Finally the time had come for their order to finish. "Come over, blue dude," the cashier said. Sonic complied, walking up to the cashier who was looking over the receipt one last time. "We have a hamburger with fries and a soda, and... a cheeseburger with fries and a soda, for the big guy ov—" the cashier then happened to look over where the hedgehog had been sitting and spotted the fox. "... O-oh my god. Dude, I can't make you pay for this," he stammered.

" _As if tonight couldn't go any worse,_ " Sonic thought to himself, before asking, "Now why is that, er..." he paused to read the cashier's bordering-on-illegible name-tag, "... I'm gonna say 'Steve?'"

The cashier reacted as though the hedgehog had just sprouted antlers. "Are you kidding me? Isn't it obvious?" He asked. Sonic had a guess as to why, but the cashier instead explained, "That's Tails Prower! The hero of Station Square!" To say the two's eyes widened upon hearing Steve's answer would be an understatement—if this was a zany cartoon show, their eyes would've bulged out from their sockets in shock. "Any order he makes at Burger Shop is... i-is on the house!" Steve declared.

With that, the hedgehog took the tray with their food. "Okay, dude... Thanks... I mean, really, thanks, dude!" Sonic smiled, before carefully speeding their food over to the fox, flashing a big grin at the fox before unwrapping his hamburger. "How about that? They remembered you!" He exclaimed.

Amidst tears, Tails smiled along. "Uh-huh," he said, "D-do you think everyone else outside was doing it because of that too?" He inquired, eliciting very eager nods from the hedgehog, "Oh gosh..." the fox sobbed with joy, "Th-they like me... they really do..."

It seemed to the hedgehog that things were getting a little better, after all, as time went on. As they polished off their burgers, Sonic thought on how much of a far cry it was from the way they treated the fox all those years ago – now they truly saw what a great fox he was, how remarkable and wonderful he was. Tails was being appreciated, just like he should be. "So he doesn't really need me, does he..." the thought came to Sonic. It felt awful, but it was on his mind. After all, with a whole city that adored him, what use would he have with some bum hedgehog like him.

"Hey, Sonic," Tails said, grabbing the hedgehog's attention by grabbing hold of his hands and looking him in the eyes, "I'm so glad you were here with me when this happened. Out of all the people I've ever known that I could've had this moment with, I'm glad it got to be my best friend..." The fox's tearful smile melted the hedgehog's wary heart, and his words were so sweet and soothing he felt a peace he had never known before. "Thank you, Sonic, for the perfect night."

Gently, he loosened the fox's hold on his hands and wiped the tears from his date's eyes. "C'mon, bud, you're the one who made it perfect..." Sonic replied, though the fox's words did move him. Maybe he was wrong, he thought; maybe he was worth being around, without any 'too-cool' persona; maybe he could stay. Perhaps, he could stay for awhile—forever? Sonic was getting ambitious, it must have been the star light. "You're welcome, I guess, haha..." he smiled, as he leaned over and sipped his soda with his straw, outstretching his lips goofily. This wasn't an act, or a facade, it was just Sonic being Sonic.

Before long, they finished up their fast food and got up from their seats and left the building, where they were greeted with rapturous applause. "We love you, Tails!" One little girl shouted out. "You're the man, man!" Another shouted, from further back in the crowd that had developed outside the Burger Shop. All this love, all this attention, all for Tails Prower – hero of Station Square. Sonic got his arm around the fox's side and pulled him in for a side hug before leading him down the sidewalk as the crowd parted ways just for him.

"Let's get going, hero," Sonic smiled as he led the fox away to somewhere more private, the both of them waving away at the crowd. Usually he was the one who would attract the big crowds, but, Sonic reminded himself, that was a long time ago. It was a nice change of pace to have someone else have the spotlight, the credit, the gratitude.

When they were alone again, Tails looked very excited. "Well, I've had my fun, haha..." he said, "I think it's about time I stopped drawing this out..." He leaned in close and pressed his forehead against the hedgehog's, bunching his hair up cutely, but when his lips were meant to meet Sonic's... the blue hedgehog turned his head, causing it to be a mere kiss on the cheek. "Mmah—huh?" Tails smooched, "Why'd you do that?"

Taking a step back to get some more air and space, the hedgehog collected his thoughts, then replied, "There's just one more thing I wanna do... to prove I really mean what I said." Sonic then began to walk further along the sidewalk, motioning for the fox to come along.

As Tails complied and followed him along, he asked, "Like what?" When the hedgehog didn't immediately respond, he sighed, "Sonic... this wasn't supposed to be that serious, I trust you now. Really, I do." Still the hedgehog went on, intriguing the fox as they entered into the hotel. "I really don't get it – usually you're all talk and you'd gladly talk my ears off about what you're doing."

"I'd like a— _hey,_ " Sonic interjected himself, turning away from the person at the front and facing the 'mouthy' fox, "... okay, maybe you're right, but I'm about to do a cool thing," he said, before turning back to the hotel employee. "A room, please," he finished his sentence, signalling for the employee to get busy arranging it for him. "Okay, that was the cool thing," he stated as he turned back to the fox.

While it wasn't immediate, Tails did manage to piece together most of what he was doing, guessing, "You're gonna be staying for a little while longer, at the hotel?" This alone would have been enough for the fox, who added, "It means so much that you're gonna stay even for a little bit longer than you meant to... earning just that much makes me feel like a Super Tails, or something, haha..."

He could hear the fox's words, but the hedgehog could not believe them. "Wait," he started, "you thought that was why I left? Because... because you didn't deserve to have me around?" He looked into the fox's eyes that appeared to have become windows of Tails's feelings of inadequacy. "Oh... oh Tails, I'm... a big jerk..." Sonic realized, before pulling the fox into the tightest and most loving embrace he had ever given. "Tails," he started, "I'm the one who didn't deserve you. I didn't leave because you sucked, I left because I thought _I_ sucked—but then _that's_ what made me suck, so... so I've decided... I'm done hiding. I'm staying at this hotel for now so I can have time to move my stuff over to your place so I can stay _for good._.. with you... That's what I'm doing, and that's my proof that I mean it when I say I love you." He could feel the fox's hands shake as he held the hedgehog there in that embrace like his life depended on it. "I'm staying. I'm here. I'm staying."

"Okay, Sonic... Okay, Sonic..." Tails sobbed. He closed his eyes and, for the first time since he saw the hedgehog on the ground in front of him earlier that same day, let himself believe it was happening.

* * *

 _Four Days Later_

"One, two, three, go—Hey, fast pals!" Sonic exclaimed to the camera, "It's me, Number1FastBoy here with a May update video. I know lots of you have been wondering where I've been lately. The truth is—real-talk—I needed to do some things that I had been putting off for a long time, and..." he paused, his plastic 'attitude' faltering before a real smile came upon his face, "... that's what I'm doing here."

The video-blogging hedgehog, in the middle of moving places and settling into a happier life with his new twin-tailed boyfriend, went on to thank his viewers and fans. He knew he would be letting some of them down, but it was the right thing to do, he knew. "I'm glad I had this opportunity to entertain all of you. This is Number1FastBoy signing out," he said, before reaching over to his camera to stop the recording.

As he hit the record button, the clear, beautiful sound of a knock on his door came to his pointy ears. "Sonic, are you in there?" He could hear the fox ask from the other side of the door.

Swiftly, Sonic sped to the door just as he had numerous times before—only this time, when he opened the door, there was someone there. "Hey, my guy, come on in - I was just finishing up," Sonic said, warmly.

"Got it," Tails replied, as he entered into the once-lonesome house Sonic begrudgingly referred to as home for so many years. Looking around the area, he commented, whilst absently twirling his tails, "So this is it, huh? Not too bad, but I can see why you're moving on..."

He had turned his back to the fox, putting the camera and his laptop into his 'luggage' before shutting it tight. "Okay, all set for the Tornado Express, _captain_." Sonic smirked, then turned back to the fox and wrapped his arms around his waist. "Exciting times, am I right?" Sonic asked.

A knowing smils was on the fox's face as he answered, "You bet," then leaning in and giving the hedgehog maybe the twelfth kiss they had shared together in the days since they had reunited. There wasn't any hurry to leave, so Tails took the time to enjoy the kiss, using some tongue in it—which was greatly appreciated, if Sonic's approving moans were any indication. Pulling out for air, Tails inquired, "Do you know how long I've been wanting this?"

Sonic shrugged, sporting a big grin, "Eh, I think I've got a pretty good guess."

Tails grinned back, "What do you think?"

" _Ages_."

 **The End**


End file.
